Ten minutes with Dr Mary-Liz Trant, Director of the National Apprenticeship Office
"I would love to see apprenticeships established as a highly-valued source of talent across all twenty-first century industries in Ireland," shares Dr Trant.
A teacher by background, Dr Mary-Liz Trant is the first Director of the National Apprenticeship Office. This is a new body jointly established in 2022 by SOLAS and the Higher Education Authority to implement the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025. Prior to heading up the new Office Mary-Liz was executive director for skills development in SOLAS. She has also held senior posts in the Higher Education Authority
When Minister Harris TD announced his intention to establish the new National Apprenticeship Office, I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to contribute to the next phase of apprenticeship development in Ireland. As executive director for skills development in SOLAS I had been involved in the area since 2015 and prior to that in the HEA, so I thought I could bring good knowledge of the area to the role and to starting up the new Office.
Throughout my whole career I have been involved in education and I believe passionately in the wonderful opportunities that are created for people through learning, whether that is on a campus or in the workplace. I love everyday of my job in the National Apprenticeship Office and am privileged to be working with a great team.
The National Apprenticeship Office was set up to drive expansion of the national apprenticeship system in Ireland and to get the word out to school leavers, parents, families, career changers about the many apprenticeship programmes now available and the huge investment Government is making in apprenticeships as a major route to skills development.
66 national programmes are now on offer, in areas that include tech to engineering, biopharma, hospitality, finance and many more. Did you know that there are two apprenticeship programmes available in Cybersecurity for example? And there are over 30 more programmes in the development pipeline, in diverse areas that include paramedic training, quantity surveying, horticulture and beauty therapy.
The best part of my job is the people bit, working with a great team and an apprenticeship community of over 40,000 apprentices, employers, education and training providers and coordinators, making earn-as-you-learn apprenticeship opportunities available to apprentices of all ages and backgrounds. There are now over 26,000 apprentices training in Ireland, compared to just over 10,000 five years ago. Almost 9,000 employers are involved currently in training those apprentices, and the numbers participating are growing each month.
A moment I will always remember is the inaugural national apprentice of the year awards which we held this year in the Round Room of the Mansion House, where over 500 people attended and celebrated our wonderful community of apprentices training in Ireland. Dermot Bannon hosted for us, and the roof of the Mansion House nearly lifted off with the cheers of all who were there. We were thrilled that Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD was able to attend to announce the apprentice award winners for 2022.
In five years time I would love to see apprenticeships established as a highly-valued source of talent across all twenty-first century industries in Ireland, with at least 10,000 apprentice registrations per year and up to 20,000 employers using apprenticeship to recruit and retain talent. Awareness of apprenticeship opportunities among the public in Ireland is growing, and inclusion of apprenticeship opportunities on the CAO platform this year was a really big step forward. We still have more to do however.
When I was starting out and realised how interested I was in education, working with early school leavers at the time, a lovely academic advisor I had in the University of Limerick advised me to get my professional teaching qualification. This was invaluable advice for my subsequent career, even though it meant I was a mature 27 years of age going back to study for my HDip in Education!
I think women in general aren’t always as confident as they should be in their work lives and careers, and I was no exception when I was starting out. I would pay more attention to ways in which I could build confidence, maybe seeking out a mentor or two, joining networks of those developing their careers.
I would say that a combination of good people skills and good writing skills as well as a flair for innovation are important for this job. After that it can all be picked up!
As per my reply in the question above, good people skills, and that includes being a great listener, good writing skills, and a flair for innovation.
Human beings find any kind of change challenging, there is a fear factor. It is important to give people the opportunity and time to be involved in making change, and to recognise that everyone has a valuable contribution to make.
Oh definitely the national apprenticeship platforms! On Twitter, @apprenticesIrl on LinkedIn, @ApprenticeshipIreland. We also have channels on Instagram and Facebook, with our presence on TikTok being developed next year.
Time and again I go back to the classic by Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Invaluable advice for anyone working in a business that is all about people working together for the benefit of current and future generations.
